Black Friday slowly creeps into Thanksgiving Day

ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- The first three people got in line around 4pm Thursday. Within two hours, the numbers had multiplied to more than four dozen shoppers, many waiting to take advantage of the Toys R Us Black Friday deals.

Only thing - it's still Thursday.

At K-Mart in Mableton, the rush started even earlier. Doors opened at 6am, to the delight of hundreds of shoppers in line, many of whom had been there for more than a day.

Many stores, including Target in Atlantic Station, opened at 9pm Thursday. Associates said their best-selling item was the iPad; anyone who bought one also received a $60 Target gift card.

At the nearby Old Navy, managers tripled their staffing. Store manager Shaun Reynolds said they expected a large crowd because everything in the store was on sale.

"What we're doing today is we're putting up all our signs," she said. "We've been preparing for this all week."

Stores in Lenox Mall opened at midnight, and Phipps Plaza will open at 8am Friday.